UPND Members Charged with Controversial Murder of PF Cadre in Rufunsa

Lusaka Province Commissioner of Police Joyce Kasosa has announced that five UPND officials who were arrested in connection with the death of a PF cadre Menyani Zulu have since been charged with murder.

“We have charged five suspects with the murder of Mr Zulu in Rufunsa and among them is Ambassador Bauleni. We had earlier apprehended seven people but as we said, we are still carrying out investigations,” she said.

She said the four UPND officials were from Rufunsa while Bauleni was a Lusaka resident.

“Some of the suspects who were earlier apprehended including two women have all been released,” she said.

Lawyer for the accused Martha Mushipe described the police action as unproffesional because they charged her clients in her absence.

“I am wondering why the police decided to charge my client in my absence when they were getting a statement from him in my presence” she said.

However there have been serious doubts over who was responsible for the death, as most accounts of the violence indicate that the youth cadres were infighting over money, causing Mr. Zulu to fall off a vehicle, where he may have been killed by impact or by an angry mob of local residents. Both opposition parties say that their members were no where near the scene of the crime.